The Dating Intervention: Book 1 in the Intervention Series (35 page)

“Summer said it might take a little longer to cook since it hadn’t come all the way up to room temperature before we put it in the oven.”
 

“We?” Jake said.

“Okay, I admit it,” Delaney said, realizing the tension was melting away. “I had help with this dinner. I was so afraid I’d ruin it, Summer brought her kids over and they helped me. It took six people to cook this meal. You’d better like it.”
 

“Tell me more about your friends,” he said.
 

For the next fifteen minutes, she shared the best Summer and Josie stories from their teenage years, from Josie sneaking them out of school in the trunk of her car junior year to Summer proposing to Derek right after graduation.
 

She expected black billows of smoke to greet her when she opened the oven, but on the contrary, she smelled the homey scent of roasted chicken. She could hear the drippings sizzling in the roasting pan, and was pleasantly surprised when she pulled it out and saw the bird’s skin was a crispy, light brown.
 

“That looks perfect,” Jake said.

“It does.”
 

“You sound surprised,” he said.
 

“I am.”
 

He carved the perfectly-roasted chicken while she served the salad and mashed potatoes. Then they sat down at her dining table.
 

“Was that a huge sigh of relief?” he asked.

“It was,” Delaney said. “Even though we haven’t tasted any of the food, yet. Maybe I should rescind that sigh of relief until we’ve tasted everything. Go ahead.”
 

Jake cut a piece of chicken and put it in his mouth. He chewed, staring into her eyes. He chewed. And chewed. Impatience took hold.

“Well?” she said.
 

He held up a finger. And chewed.
 

“The suspense is killing me!”
 

He swallowed. “It’s good. Really good. Well done.”
 

“Now I can sigh that sigh of relief.”
 

“You deserve it. Cheers, again. To a perfectly cooked chicken.”
 

As Jake cleaned his plate and she did the same, Delaney felt a tiny glimmer of pride taking shape in her chest. She’d done it. Sure, she had a little help (okay, more than a little) from Summer and the kids, but she’d taken the chicken out of the oven on time. She’d provided the salad recipe. And she had even mashed the potatoes. And someone other than her parents, Summer, or Josie was eating it.
Devouring
it.
 

Maybe it’s because he was raised to be a gentleman
, her inner critic whispered.
Maybe he actually hates it but his mom always told him he has to clean his plate.
But she knew better. She was tasting the food, too, and it was pretty good.
 

“So I imagine you’ll have to report back to Summer and Josie after this, huh?” Jake said.

“Yeah. I imagine I will.”
 

Although she tried to maintain an air of calm, inside, she felt jittery. She couldn’t put her finger on exactly why until Jake licked his lips. She wanted him. Bad. And she was simultaneously hoping and not hoping he’d go for it tonight. She knew the timing wasn’t right and she didn’t want to mess things up. She had to wait until he’d confirmed they were an item. A couple. Boyfriend-girlfriend. Seeing each other. Something. Something official. Something besides, “I really like you but I’m super busy.”
 

She’d put herself out there, hadn’t she? And now she just had to wait. He knew what she wanted. And he must like her. The flowers, the sledding, the dinner…
 

Couldn’t she just make a cootie catcher or pull out the Ouija board to find out if he wanted to go steady?
 

“I have to ask you something,” she said.
 

“Shoot.”
 

A long pause.

“Can I get your number?” she said.
 

“Geez. I thought you were going to ask me my deepest, darkest secret or something. Of course you can.”
 

After they’d exchanged numbers, Jake said, suddenly, “I have a surprise for you.Wait here.”
 

He walked out the front door and returned a moment later, holding a movie case in front of him.
 

“You’re full of surprises,” Delaney said.
 

“It’s a specialty. This,” he said, “is my all-time favorite movie. I couldn’t let this relationship go on any longer without watching it with you. Youngblood.”
 

Did he say relationship?
“Is it a hockey movie?”
 

“‘Is it a hockey movie?’ Only the best hockey movie ever made!”
 

“Do you show this to all the ladies?” she said.

“Absolutely not. Only to those who invite me over for a lip-lickin’ home-cooked meal.”
 

So she
was
special to him. Or did all the ladies make him a home-cooked meal? He did seem to inspire strange domestic tendencies.
 

“Looking forward to it,” she said. “I’ll just clear the table.”
 

“One more thing,” he said, pulling something out of his back pocket. “Popcorn.”
 

“I love popcorn.” Delaney opened the pouch and put the bag in the microwave to pop while they cleaned up. She put the movie in the DVD player and they settled on the couch.
 

“I love this movie,” Jake said as the previews played.
 

“I’m honored that you brought it for us to watch together,” she said.
 

“You should be.”
 

He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. Even though she tried her best to pay attention to the plot, the characters and the scenery, Delaney was distracted by Jake’s warmth, his soap-and-spice scent, the rise and fall of his chest. She wanted to lay him down on the couch again, just like she had in his apartment. But she resisted. This movie was important to him and she was determined to watch the entire thing.
 

Hockey games, hazing rituals and fights were enough to put her to sleep, but she held on. At one point, Pixie hopped onto the couch and plopped down on Delaney’s lap. Jake stroked her, rubbing her neck. She purred.
 

I’d be purring right now, too.
 

The movie ended. Jake stretched.
 

“So? Did you like it?”
 

“I did,” Delaney said. “It was really good.”
 

“Good. I would love to stay longer, but I really should go. I’ve got to get up early tomorrow to work on … some stuff.”
 

That sounds highly suspicious and ambiguous
, Delaney’s inner voice whispered. She swatted the thought away. It was probably something to do with his gallery.
Probably. Most likely.
 

“Thanks so much for coming over and eating my food.” Delaney’s cheer felt forced and she imagined she was grimacing at him. Jake didn’t seem to notice. He kissed her and headed for the door.
 

“Thank you. It turned out great. I look forward to eating lots more of your cooking.”
 

***

Sure, he’d kissed her goodnight. And it had been a warm, lingering kiss. Full of promise, she’d say, if she had to describe it. But promises just weren’t doing it for Delaney Collins’ libido. She felt needy, hungry. Starving.
 

Instead of running down the walkway after Jake, she sent the girls a text:
The evening is over. Went well. Food was perfect (thanks, Summer).
 

Summer:
Did you guys make it official? And then do The Deed?
 

Josie:
Don’t hold out on us.

Delaney:
Well, he said some really nice things. But no. He brought that movie, Youngblood? He said it’s his favorite movie and I’m the first woman he’s ever shown it to. Also he wants to eat more of my cooking.

Summer:
Well, that’s something.
 

Josie:
I bet you’re so horny right now. Haha.
 

Delaney:
Haha. Ha. Well, it was a perfectly pleasant evening.
 

Despite the fact that it had, indeed, been a perfectly pleasant evening, Delaney felt a little uneasy as she fell asleep. Questions floated through her mind like amorphous ghosts: What did Jake have to do tomorrow? Why hadn’t he told her about it? Did he have another woman to see? A date? It felt like hours passed before she finally drifted off.

“Paging Doc Collins,” Doctor Kat called from across their shared office space.
 

Delaney shook her head to clear it and swung her chair around to face Doctor Kat, who sat in hers, long legs splayed out in front of her.
 

“Sorry. What’d you need?”

“I need my second-in-command to stop daydreaming. We have a surgery in five minutes.”
 

Doctor Kat looked entertained, and Delaney struggled to keep her composure.

“I’m not daydreaming,” she said.
 

“What’s going on with you?”
 

“Nothing,” Delaney said. “Just concentrating.”

During her first few days at work, she’d discovered that she enjoyed surgery. The clean, sterile room, the precision of a clean cut, the ability to heal, quickly. Maybe she’d ask Doctor Kat if she could take the lead on one in a couple of weeks.
 

“So, you had a date last night?”
 

How’d she know?
 

“How’d you know?”
 

Without making eye contact, Doctor Kat turned her chair around to face her desk. “Who was it?”
 

Chuckling in bewilderment, Delaney shook her head and answered, “It was this guy. Jake.”

“‘This guy’? Sounds impressive.”
 

“You’re my boss. Do you want me to tell you he’s really hot? I mean, mouthwatering? Because he is. I mean, seriously good-looking.” ‘

Doctor Kat made a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a harrumph.
 

“Going steady?”
 

“I’m not sure. I’d like to, but he’s really busy. And stuff. Starting his own business.” Delaney shook her head, adding, “The dating scene is brutal. I’ve been testing the waters.”
 

“Anything good?”
 

“You should
see
some of what’s out there. I don’t know where these guys come from. But actually, it’s funny. The hot guy I was just talking about? Jake? I met him a while back. He came to my rescue when someone rear-ended me on the highway, then drove off. Then I ran into him at Rowdy’s. My mom calls it serendipitous that he also turned up as a match on FindLove.com.” She could practically feel Doctor Kat raising an eyebrow. “Yes, I’m on FindLove.com. Don’t ask. Anyway, our first date went pretty well, and then I ran into him again outside Eddie’s.”
 

She found she couldn’t stop talking about Jake now that she’d started. “He’s dreamy. I mean, really dreamy. He looks like a Greek god. The nose, the profile, the lips. You know what I mean? Anyway, it’s probably too good to be true.”
 

“Maybe not.” Dr. Kat stood up. “You never know. I actually thought that about my husband at first, so I hear you. But it’s okay to go for something really great. In fact, if you don’t go for it, you might regret it. So go all out, Doc Collins. Let’s go scrub in.”

***

Just after ten, as Delaney grabbed a water from the break room, her phone chirped.
 

Jake:
Meet for lunch?
 

Her heart scrambled up into her throat. She responded:
Sure. When/where?

Jake:
Sand Witch? When are you open?

Delaney:
12:15

Jake:
Can’t wait to see you.
 

During the next two hours, Delaney analyzed and re-analyzed the text conversation for any signs he wanted to make it official. Had he been warm? Friendly? Not particularly. But he had said, “Can’t wait to see you.” That had to be good, right?
 

The hands on the office clock finally crawled their way upward to noon. Delaney parked a couple of blocks away from The Sand Witch and walked over, enjoying the warmth of the spring sun on her face. The typical April breeze was picking up now, and she pulled her hair into a ponytail to keep it from getting stuck in her lip gloss.
Should I have worn lip gloss? Does it make me look like I’m trying too hard? What does lip gloss say about a girl? Kiss me? Don’t kiss me, I’m sticky?
 

Her musings were cut short when she walked right into The Sand Witch’s glass door as someone else walked out. The impact knocked her back a couple of steps and made her see stars.

“Delaney!” Jake’s voice cut through the fog.

The couple coming out of the restaurant hadn’t even noticed she was there, but, of course, Jake, who’d been waiting for her on the sidewalk, had seen everything. He rushed over to hold the door for her.
 

Mortifying.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

When she regained her balance and her vision, she couldn’t tell if he was trying not to laugh, or just really happy to see her.

“I’m fine.”
 

He guided Delaney in by her elbow.

“What happened?” he said.

“Distracted, I guess.”
 

“I guess.” Jake’s eyes shone with merriment, but he managed to keep a straight face.

Just as they found a table after ordering, Jake’s phone rang. He jumped about a mile, fumbled to put his sandwich down, nearly spilled his drink and then glanced nervously at Delaney before practically sprinting outside.
 

That old sense of unease crept into her stomach. From where she sat, she could see him, standing on the sidewalk, phone pressed to his ear, body rigid. She couldn’t tell whether he was nervous or excited, but the muscles in his back and shoulders looked tense.